


A Spot of Trouble

by Arithanas



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-16 03:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13045230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithanas/pseuds/Arithanas
Summary: Phyllis found herself in a spot of trouble while driving to Liverpool.





	A Spot of Trouble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toomanysecrets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanysecrets/gifts).



The motor hadn’t stopped rattling since she turned toward the main road. Phyllis Crane sighed. A mechanical breakdown in these conditions would spoil her free day, not to mention her expected delivery.

Phyllis reached the small town near Warrington. She wasn’t one to curse but that didn’t stop thinking unflattering things about the newly minted Mrs Hereward. Phyllis let her head rest on the steering well as the clunking bang of her little car announced its surrender. The mechanical clicking of the engine lasted for minutes before Phyllis noticed the faint sound of bells and the excited barking of a dog.

Phyllis sat in her seat and squared her shoulders before she noticed the dirty, mischievous face of a country boy flattened against her window. His bright eyes surveyed the inside of the car with greedy fascination. His mouth formed words but Phyllis didn’t catch their meaning.

“Excuse me?” Phyllis called out, rolling down her window.

“Said, good afternoon, miss!” The boy called, and his polite greeting sounded charming to Phyllis’s ears. There really was nothing like getting away from London to restore faith in common decency. “Is this an Austin?”

“Indeed it is, young man,” Phyllis collected her purse and took the keys from the ignition. “I gather a bright lad like you is partial to automobiles.”

“I am, miss. My brother has a small shop and a great deal of motors has passed through his hands.” The boy took a step back to allow Phyllis open the door. The dog ran around his ankles wagging its furry tail. “Excuse me saying, miss, but are you in a spot of trouble?”

“The Austin is in a spot of trouble, not me. May I ask your name?”

“I’m Tony, miss, Tony Lewis.” The boy sounded absolutely delighted to be addressed by Phyllis. “And if you don’t mind my meddling, I can I can fetch my brother to look at your Austin.”

“By all means.”

The youngster took off running before the words left Phyllis’s lips, the dog glued to his hocks.

“I’ll be back in two ticks, miss!” Tony promised, waving his hand.

Phyllis nodded, smiling faintly. She could count herself lucky, even with the swirl of winter around her ankles. For a moment, she doubted her choice, this early in winter she would have headed south, where the weather should be fairer. It wasn’t really Barbara’s fault if she took advantage of her wish to visit Liverpool for a day and sent some things to her sister. Nonetheless, she opened the back door and took the neatly packaged parcel from the passenger seat and moved it to the boot.

“Better safe than sorry,” Philly said as she closed the hatch.

She was still debating between picking up her Spanish phrasebook and taking a barley sugar to build up her strength when the lad made true to his word and returned with a bigger youth in tow.

“Jake will have your Austin running in a jiffy,” Tony announced. His brother nodded before he popped open the hood and peered inside.

Jake apparently lacked as many words as his polite little brother had to spend. His right hand appeared from behind the hood and made a motion of turning the key. Phyllis got inside and got the motor running. The clicking returned and the Austin made a ghastly metal scrapping sound. Jake signalled her to kill it before closing the hood.

“Frayed timing belt. Loose sprocket.” The young man was Spartan in his words, but the meaning was clear. “Easy-peasy.”

“Good.” Phyllis liked Jake’s style and adapted to it. “How much? And how long, please?”

“An hour.” Jake was clear with the time, but Phyllis saw him dither with the price.

“Is a pound acceptable?”

By the way Tony looked away and by the sound of Jake's grunt, Phyllis noticed how much their pride was hurt by the comment, and she felt the colour rise to her cheeks.

“Here, look, Jake,” Phyllis put her spare change on top of the car. A good amount of money she always kept for small contingencies. “You take what you think is fair from here and I’ll pocket the rest.”

With a gruff nod Jake opened the hood again.

“Jake likes to work alone, miss.” Tony said and took Phyllis’s hand. “Would you like to mosey round town? It’s not big, but it’s quaint.”

Never bodes well to argue with an unstoppable force. Phyllis took her purse and started her walk toward the town.

“I’ll look for you when Jake is done, miss.”

“I’m sure you will.” Phyllis had good cause to believe the lad’s word.

It was a short walk and the town looked just like any other rural town she had visited before. Good solid buildings and the crisp smell of early winter in the air. The main square was surrounded by shops but nothing caught Phyllis’s eye… except for a frock.

That kind of dress wasn’t something she could find in London and her interest was piqued.

The frock in the shop window was what Phyllis called a fine piece of fashion. The capelet sleeves were longer than they were in her day. Phyllis thought the way the fabric draped over the mannequin was very flattering. The long flounces at the hem gave the whole piece the impression of movement. The small band that served as a collar pretended to be severe; it looked like the height of elegance to Phyllis.

The pattern was one of her youth: the solid Egyptian blue popped out from the neat lines, classic rhomboidal pattern. Small floral details tumbled inside the well-ordered boxes. Phyllis’s tired eyes followed the convoluted leaves. The fabric in her young years was cheap dimity, always wrinkled and riding up her scraped knees. It was not a church frock but one that accompanied her learning her first letters.

Wondering if the fabric would have the same light weight of her days in the sun, Phyllis reached for it. Her fingers recalled how flimsy and free the fabric felt. Phyllis touched the cold glass knowing that much water had passed under the bridge. Dressmaking had come far since the war, but this piece looked so flimsy. It would float on the faintest summer breeze around her calves. She was sure.

“Good afternoon, miss!” a cheerful voice called as soon as the shop’s door opened. That voice belonged to a young woman with a measuring tape around her neck. “Do you like something you see?”

“I was just looking, thank you.”

“If you like it, you can have it cheap,” she pointed at the frock with a careless gesture. “I was about to take it down, anyway. It’s been waiting for a lady of good taste for too long.”

“I can hardly believe it.” The statement sounded more pained than Phyllis had meant it to.

“Tell you what, love,” the seamstress looked at Phyllis with a trained eye. “Try it on, and you can have it half price if it fits you like a glove. I have a good eye, and it’s like I sewed it for you. I can tell.”

An immovable object, Phyllis was sure. This town seemed to be teeming with them. Half an hour later, Phyllis stepped out with her new dress in a brown parcel, and with such a sensible price to cap it off. Tony was waiting for her on the steps.

“Your Austin is ready, miss.” Tony announced with a smile. “And Jake is back in his shop with another urgent job. May I help you with your parcel?”

“You are such a helpful young man.” Phyllis couldn’t resist passing the package to the lad. “I won’t insult you with an offer of payment, but is there anything I could do on your behalf?”

Tony looked a bit taken aback by the question, but the boy gave her the widest grin Phyllis had seen in years.

“Could I ride with you? Just to the edge of town?” Tony lowered his gaze. “I have never ridden an Austin and they are swell.”

“Of course you can.”

It was such a small price to pay for such a lovely afternoon, after all. She would make her way to Liverpool in time.


End file.
